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Eyeball Licking Craze Causes Problems

It’s a
fact: Teenagers do strange things. But we think teenagers in Japan take the
cake for weirdness after hearing about a disgusting new trend: They’re licking
each other’s eyeballs.

Why? Who
knows. Perhaps the utter grossness of it is what makes it a challenge, and
where there’s a challenge there’s the potential for sport. It’s called
“oculolinctus” or “worming,” and hundreds of videos of this weird fetish have
popped up on YouTube. Here’s a peek at one in case you’ve got the stomach for
it:

But it’s
all fun and games until someone gets pinkeye—and Japan is experiencing a surge
in this eye infection. Many experts theorize it’s a consequence of this trend. Some
doctors warn that kids can even pass on herpes this way. Dr. Phillip Rizzuto, from the American Academy of
Ophthalmology, warned that certain bacteria found in the mouth could damage eye
tissue and even lead to blindness.

"When
you get licked on the eye, you're transferring dangerous bacteria to the
eye," Robert Cykiert, an associate professor in the department of
ophthalmology at the New York University Langone Medical Center told ABC
News. "It's a very dangerous trend, to say the least. [People] may
have scarring of the cornea that can be permanent depending on the bacteria in
germs. ... It may cause a perforation or hole to develop."

The moral
of the story? Just say no to the eyeball licking craze, kids. Whether this trend will take off in the
U.S. is unknown, but never overestimate just how dumb kids can be when they're bored.